Share

Brighton UK is located on the south coast of England about 50 miles due south of London. It became popular during the 18th century as a fashionable health resort for bathing in the sea. When the railway came in the mid-19th century, the city became even more popular, as residents of London could come down just for a day or short vacation. Brighton England became so popular with Londoners that it was called "London by the Sea," and many grand Victorian structures were built and still stand today.

One of these structures was the Grand Hotel, built in 1864. Those who want to stay in the most historic of the Brighton hotels will try to book this property. It is today a four-star property built in the sumptuous Renaissance style popular during the Victorian era. Called simply "The Grand," it is located at 97-99 King's Road, the main seaside boulevard in the city. It is in front of Churchill Square and less than two blocks from Brighton Pier.

The Brighton England Pier (formally, the Brighton Marine Palace and Pier) is another of the city's main tourist attractions. Work began on it in 1891, and it was opened to the public in 1899. The pier is one of three in the city, and it supports a domed amusement arcade and a number of rides including thrill rides such as a roller coaster and tamer children's rides. There are many Brighton hotels on the King's Road and close to this major attraction. Those closest to the pier can be fairly noisy during the summer, as activity goes on late into the night and there a number of discos, nightclubs, and bars in the neighborhood.

The Royal Pavilion was actually a royal palace used as the residence of the Prince of Wales, who later became King George IV. This was one of his favorite vacation spots, which helped to make Brighton UK so popular. It is a wonderful example of the kind of extravagant Indo-Saracenic architecture brought from India, and is today one of England's museums and the most important tourist attraction in the city. Another of the Brighton England Indo-Saracenic buildings is the Sassoon Mausoleum, built in 1892 as a wing of the aristocratic Sassoon family residence. In 1933, the dead were reburied in the Jewish Cemetery of London, and the mausoleum is today a chic restaurant located a few blocks to the east of the pier.

Naturally, it is the Brighton UK beach that draws visitors here by the thousands during the summer. The city also hosts the second-largest festival in the UK after the Edinburgh Festival. The Brighton Festival even has a Fringe Festival similar to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

For quieter Brighton hotels with character, you may want to consider "The Avenues." The Avenues consist of a number of avenues and streets that are perpendicular to King's Road a bit to the west of the Grand Hotel. The Claremont is located at 13 Second Avenue, just a block from the beach. It is an intimate five-star boutique hotel set in a lovely old Victorian villa. There are only eleven luxurious rooms, and breakfast is included in the room rates. There is no restaurant, but it is within walking distance of numerous shops, restaurants, and clubs.